KABUL
A Taliban suicide bomber drove his explosive-laden car into a British embassy vehicle in Afghanistan's capital Kabul on Thursday.
According to Afghan authorities, at least five civilians and a foreigner were killed and more than 30 others were wounded in the incident.
“We have received five bodies and 34 wounded people, including five children, at our hospitals. Unfortunately some of them are in critical condition,” Ministry of Public Health spokesman Kanishka Turkistani told the Anadolu Agency.
He refused to give any details about the foreigner's possible injuries.
At least one person with a foreign nationality was killed, according to a high level security official, and three others were injured following the attack.
“I saw one body of a foreigner that was taken out of the damaged armored-vehicle and three others were wounded. One Afghan man was also killed in the car, he was possibly their interpreter,” an Afghan security official told the AA on condition of anonymity.
The area was cordoned off by foreign and local soldiers and the armored vehicle of the embassy was heavily damaged. Several other civilian vehicles stained with blood could be seen at the scene.
A woman was screaming and calling her son's name. Parts of the bodies were scattered on the street.
“It was very big explosion. A friend of mine was injured in the incident. Every day we wake up with the bang of bomb explosions. It has become part of our lives,” Mohammad Tahir, a young Afghan man from the area, said.
It was the second attack on British targets in the past ten days.
Three suicide bombers with an explosive-laden truck and light weapons carried out a coordinated attack on a British-linked company, HART international, on Nov. 18, killing two of their guards.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban's purported spokesman, claimed responsibility and said that the suicide attack had targeted a foreigner`s convoy and several people were killed.
Kabul has been witnessing suicide and bomb attacks almost every other day. Kabul police chief and a prominent female MP were targeted by suicide bombers recently. Although both escaped the attacks, several civilian lost their lives.
Taliban militants have intensified their activities since the Afghan government security agreement with the United States and NATO, whose combat forces are preparing to withdraw from Afghanistan at the end of this year.
www.aa.com.tr/en
